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There are lots of conservatives who wonder what went wrong with the 2012 presidential election. It wasn't supposed to go this way. The sensible adults were supposed to win the country back from the fantasy-minded children who were more interested in spending than in saving. The election was supposedly all about the economy and the economy stunk. Our national debt is through the roof, more then twenty million people are out of work, no one is hiring, manufacturing is down, the dollar is worthless and yet….none of that mattered. Obama couldn't be defeated. Why? The United States of America has changed, that's why.
The prevailing wisdom up until now is that the U.S. is a center-right country; this is no longer the case. There are several major shifts that have taken place in the country over the past few decades which accounts for this. For one thing, we have become a more secular nation. While we are still considered to be a religious country, religion is not as important to our national fabric as it once was. Overall, younger Americans today do not have the religious values that older Americans have. Add to that the fact that many traditional religious orders have taken a more liberal view in recent years regarding social values.
The demographics of the nation have changed dramatically. Yes, we are still a nation with a white majority, but it's dwindling fast. The population change from 2000 to 2010, as provided by U.S. Census Bureau shows a white population decrease from 75.1% to 72.4% and an increase of Black or African American numbers by 0.3%. The Asian population has increased by 1.2%. Latinos are increasing more than anyone. The Latino population more than tripled between 1980 and 2009. The trend will continue based on the current declining U.S. birthrate and the strong immigration rate to the United States. By 2050, more than half of the U.S. population will be non-white (African-American, Asian, Hispanic).
For many voters, Obama represents anyone who isn't white. Many non-whites (along with white liberals) identify with him. The portion of adult citizens who are members of racial or ethnic minority groups grew by 4 percentage points in Nevada, by 3 percentage points in Virginia, by 2 percentage points in Florida and 1 percentage point in Ohio and Iowa between 2008 and 2011. The analysis of Census data was conducted by William Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution in Washington. That put states with more electoral votes in the safely Democratic column than in the safely Republican one, and left Romney with fewer potential paths to the 270 electoral votes needed to win the election.
Another major shift is in the amount of people getting "free stuff" from the government, or "the takers versus the makers." In this election, the takers won and the makers lost. Today we have about half of the population receiving some sort of government handout, and that doesn't include social security payments. Once people have been given government assistance, once people become dependant on the largess of government, it is ridiculous to think that they will ever vote for anyone who will not continue giving them those government benefits.
The left ideology has been taught in subtle and not so subtle ways to children in public schools and universities for more than 40 years which has resulted in generations of Americans who now firmly believe in socialistic values including multiculturalism, radical feminism, moral relativism and the historic evils of the white man. Indoctrination of the youth is the sure path to political and social change. Nazism and communism knew this well and engaged in it. If you repeat a lie long enough it soon becomes the truth.
Political correctness has been ingrained into our society, to the detriment of all logic and common sense. White guilt drives much of our viewpoints. Minorities are always victims, they are always right, no matter what. We have become a culture without a core, a culture which embraces all cultures except for our traditional American culture. E Pluribus Unum (from many, one) has been turned inside out. We are no longer a melting pot; we are a nation of tribes.
Add to this the fact that the overwhelming majority of the media (news organizations, entertainment companies, magazines, the arts) support liberal causes and liberal candidates. Sadly, our press is by and large NOT fair and balanced, and television, movies, music, magazines, and other pop culture exposure are clearly left leaning. This is a hard thing to combat if you are a conservative with traditional values.
So America is not your founding father's country anymore. I'm convinced that this election was our last chance to recapture America's traditional values as were put forth by our founders. This was the last chance to reinstate our values of individualism, exceptionalism, and entrepreneurial spirit. That's gone. Get ready for a new America. An America closer to the European socialistic model of government control over the individual. It's been coming slowly for a long time. Now it has accelerated. Fasten your seatbelts.

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JWR contributor Greg Crosby, former creative head for Walt Disney publications, has written thousands of comics, hundreds of children's books, dozens of essays, and a letter to his congressman. A freelance writer in Southern California, you may contact him by clicking here.